6BC Garden rules For Members

By becoming a member, you have agreed help out in the garden. Garden maintenance is essential to keep the garden green and growing, which is also a great way to get some exercise. There are many tasks that need doing. Some are easy and only take a few minutes, other are more strenuous and may take longer, but all need doing and will go a long way to keeping the garden beautiful.

Essential Garden Tasks:Easy ones (exercise 101):

Sweep the sidewalk in front of the garden. Clear litter from the tree pits fronting the garden.

Sweep the garden paths, including around the tables and in the grotto. Remove any loose bricks and put them by the tool shed.

Pick up trash in the garden. There are small plastic bags by the tool shed lockers for this purpose. Please take the trash out with you when you leave and deposit it in the public garbage at the corner.

Clean the benches and tables. Spray cleaner and paper towels are in the tool shed.

Keep the toolshed and the area around the toolshed organized and clean. Spray the floor and the bottom of walls with Lysol. This discourages rats, as they use scent trails to mark pathways.

Remove any dead leaves or flowers from plants, UNLESS THEY CONTAIN, OR WILL CONTAIN, SEEDS THAT BIRDS CAN FORAGE. If the entire plant is dead, do not remove it, but let the plot steward or a board member know, so we can see the location and figure out what to replace it with.

When you use tools, please use them carefully. Clean any clippers, scissors, or trowels after use with alcohol and clean paper towels. This prevents transmittal of diseases or fungi from plant to plant. Please replace them where you found them.

Clean and sharpen any tools that look dirty and rusty. You can clean tools with alcohol or spray cleaner, and wipe dry. If rust doesn't come off, you can try to gently sandpaper it off. Cleaning supplies, paper towels, alcohol and sand paper are all in the tool shed.

Check the library, make sure it is neat and swept.

Kill all snails, anywhere, anytime. Or dump them in the pond for the fish. Snails can cause a lot of unsightly damage.

Harder ones (exercise 301):

Water any plot that looks dry. If you don't water from the hydrant, hand water from the rain barrels by the compost or from the fishpond. If you do use the hydrant, please replace the hose and hydrant tools where you found them. Here is a link on how to use the hydrant. If you use the hydrant, please fill a couple of rain barrels and give the pond a squirt, too. Fellow members and the fish will thank you. If you use the rain barrels, please return the watering cans to the ladder by the toolshed.

Weed. All plants more than 3/4 inch tall between the bricks on the path can be removed. Except mosses. Pictures of common weeds are posted here.

Keep the ivy on the outside fence neatly trimmed. The large sheers you can find in the toolshed are the most efficient tool for this. If you are unsure on how to do this, ask a board member. Or, just cutting off the brighter, newest leaves, and any trailing onto the sidewalk, will keep it neat.

Turn compost. There are shovels and pitchforks in the toolshed.

The Parks Dept. and Green Thumb reminds you:6BC is a working garden; you enter at your own risk.